Summer fun!

So far, our summer has been packed with fun! We have had baseball games, Jamison's T-ball games, playdates, birthday parties, weddings, free movies, horseback riding lessons, concerts in the park....... Here are some pictures of the madness!







Before we went to the pool party that day, we had Chase's 5 year check-up, which I took all 3 kids to :) Then we had John Robert's party, then we came home for a picture appointment I had at 2:00, then we got ready, I took Skybug home and we headed to my daddy's wedding. Very busy day!! To see more pictures from his wedding, you can go to www.jimmyandjeannie.blogspot.com

He told me that Christina would be standing up there with Jeannie and asked if I would stand up there with him and I said yes. I just thought okay, both of their "babies" are going to be up there with them. Then right before the wedding started, when Joey asked me what my part was in the wedding, it hit me that I was my Daddy's best man!?!!!

Here we are at our first concert in the park of the summer :) We met Kyla, Noah, Kim, Drew, Steven, David, Skylar's dad, and we even ran into Uncle D!



Chase originally wanted to take Judo this summer after baseball was over, but the other day he told me that he wanted to take cowboy lessons... Well, I laughed and told him that they didn't have cowboy lessons and he said that he wanted to take cowboy lessons to learn how to ride a horse. So, I called one of the places where I had taken horseback riding lessons as a kid, and they didn't take children under 7, so I asked her if she knew anyone that would and after a few calls, we were all ready for some "Cowboy Lessons"! When I realized that the lessons were going to be in the morning, I KNEW Skylar would want to take them also. I thought I might have to work really hard to talk her dad into it, but he jumped right on board so the kids were pumped!!

New pet

Erick found this little guy on the side of the road yesterday, and the boys decided to keep him for a while! His first name is Ninja... Can you guess what his middle name is???? I pretty much think he hates us, but the boys love him and he is fed, watered and in a cooler enviroment so maybe he'll come around.

Lunch with Cousin David

We got to go to lunch with cousin David the other day. I'm sure he was just up for some free wendy's but he also got a trip to the park and a 1.25 mile walk around the track... Skylar and Chase's idea :) David and I had to take turns holding Mason because he was too slow to keep up with the big kids. Here are some pics!

Skylar being the little daredevil that she is :)


Chase is BIG into trying to do anything that Skylar does, of course, she is older and bigger and faster etc.... But he tries his best to keep up!


Mason is getting so big, it makes me sad :(


Here is a picture that little photographer Chase took of Dav-o.



And here we all are!

Weekend campout!

Well, we didn't have this planned, but Erick and Chase decided that they wanted to go camping this weekend. So, about 5 hours before, we decided to go, went and bought a tent, air mattress etc..., packed up and headed over to a friend's farm and camped out for the weekend. I've only camped once in my adult life (aside from Chase's spur of the moment decision to make us all sleep in the bed of the toyota that one night) and that was when Chase was almost 2. We went with some of Erick's friends to the lake and camped for one night in one of their tents, while I was pregnant with Mason.. (what a good wife I am :) It was fun and there was a bath house like 50 feet away which I liked. Chase loved it and Erick has wanted to go every summer since but we just never went out and bought the stuff we needed to go. This weekend they got an invite and so with no time to think about it, I was packed up and ready to go. Most of you that know me, know that I am not exactly the outdoorsy type, but with a house full of boys, I think I'm going to have get used to it. I actually really like it, I love how peaceful it is, sitting around the campfire, roasting "smarshmallows", watching the boys run around with their flashlights having a blast. If only there were no bugs, snakes, mosquitos, spiders, and I didn't get dirt on my feet, it would be perfect! :)

Here are the boys ready to go!


Here's the fam in front of our 'Two Room Villa Dome with Sun Porch'. (Erick went without me to get a tent!)


All the kids loved playing in our tent mansion :)



Chase's friends got 4 wheelers too, and they had the biggest time riding all weekend.


The men going to get sticks for the "smarshmallows" as my boys call them.




I found this cute little thing on my tent as we were taking it down this morning!!! It's a good thing too, because I honestly think I would have not gone to sleep if I had found it before.


My boys crashed out in their sleeping bags...


Erick sitting by the fire after the kiddos went to bed. He Loves it!

I love my life!

I told you my kids will fall asleep anywhere. Look at this kid, fast asleep in the yard dressed as a ninja turtle. I love my life. I love my life. I love my life!

This is exactly how I found him as I was walking, I went to get my camera and Chase followed me out to see him. I didn't move him, Chase just leaned over to kiss him and he started stirring and moved around a bit until he finally just crashed all the way into the grass :)

Mason the artist, strikes again.

I think if you were to go back in my blog archive far enough, you would find another post with a picture similar to this one of Mason in pretty much the same spot, holding a paintbrush, next to a nice masterpiece on the wall, with a guilty look on his face. This time, he is a little happier with himself... and this time, he had help :)



Here he is later that night... All that painting really wore him out! Some kids need to have their own bed, some need a bedtime routine, some need a blankie or paci, Mine... not so much.

More Happy Things

I just thought it was time for more happy things. I thought of too many to list last time and I love reading Amber's "Happies" everytime she posts them, so here goes... More of the happy things in our life!

Green grass and my backyard in the summertime!



Little boys dressing themselves!!! Both of my parents get on to me all the time for letting them go out in public in the outfits they put on themselves, but really, there are more important things in life to worry about, and it just shows their little personalities!




Okay, First let me say that I did not let Mason go out in public in this particular outfit, and next, let me answer the "why is mason in yellow pantyhose" question. They came with a Sponge Bob costume, so see, they are boyish yellow pantyhose.


The library.. and the bookmobile! Both of the boys love it and get so excited when they get to go to either! We usually just read the books there rather than checking them out... It is too risky for the books to get into our van or messy house. But the boys do love to check out dvds for the car. Favorites these days are Popular Mechanics for kids videos and Ninja Turtles, dude!


Gardening! I honestly cannot believe that I just typed that! But yeah I mean, who knew? It is actually kinda fun and it is so pretty to look at when you're done :) Honestly, I just started wanting flowers for picture purposes, and if it wasn't for that, I would probably have never "gardened" ever in my whole life, but I think I just may like it enough to keep doing it???



Taking pictures... I am my mother's daughter. Her hobby got on my nerves occasionally when I was a kid having to dress up and go outside to pose for the camera, and now I do the same thing to my boys. I also would make fun of her for laying down on the ground to get a picture of a flower or something, and a couple of years ago, Julie and I were taking pictures of a barn and it hit me then and there as I was laying on my stomach on the ground trying to get the right angle that I had, somewhere down the line, turned smack into her.


Chase just might be into it too. He always wants to take pictures. Here are a few that he took with my digital slr.





And reading in my pretty, girly, comfy bed at night!